2020 Ryker Rally Brake Light Staying On

[shakin_jake]

We (Nick, my carpenter & I) were rebuilding the wash rack for our horses on the one end of the barn a week ago

when my wife strolled up and asked me if I knew my Ryker’s brake light was on. I had no idea so I investigated it so the first thing I did was to pull up on the brake pedal using my hand and the brake lights turned off. I didn’t really give it much thought until a days later at night time, I noticed the brake light stayed on again after I rode the Rally, got off and saw the brake light stayed lit after the other lights extinguished themselves

For those that are reading this aren’t familiar with how the Ryker lights (all lighting) operates, there isn’t a way to turn the lights off separate from the ignition system. Once you start the engine, the lights are lit, turn the motor off, the head, tail light extinguishes on a pre-determined setting (30 seconds?) but the brake light will light if you compress the brake pedal with the engine off

I’ve yet to look for the cause but I’m thinking either the shaft the brake pedal rides on needs lubricating (as it may be sticking) or I have a weak brake pedal return spring

I’m wondering if any other Ryker owners have experienced this same situation. I should mention I leave my Rally outdoors 24/7. Most of the time I park under a good sized Live Oak tree in my front yard for some weather protection and why I’m thinking this issue has come about roughly after parking it outdoors for the 15 months I’ve owned it

 

[Mikey]

That return spring they use isn't strong enough on all the makes they have!! Beef it up, you will not regret it!!

 

[Peter Aawen]

That return spring they use isn't strong enough on all the makes they have!! Beef it up, you will not regret it!!

:agree:

The pic in the thumbnail shows the details of a spring many have used on their Spyders to help pull the brake pedal back up - it might work on Rykers too?! :dontknow:

 

[ARtraveler]

Another vote for beefing up the return spring.

:yes:

 

[WhiteCat]

My Ryker Rally 2020 had the same problem a few weeks ago.
The brake light was on all the time and the bike could be started without hitting the brake pedal.:yikes:
But the biggest problem was, that the bike entered limp home mode after driving a while, showing VSS malfunction.
Thats because the bike realises you are accelerating, while braking at the same time ... and so, after a while, it thinks there must be a malfunction (and yes, there indeed is a malfunction -> the switch). :clap:

What I did, was to take out the fuse (sorry, I cant remenmber which one, you have to try it) to get the light off, and let the bike be picked up by the dealer to fix it under warranty.
In my case it was not the spring, it was the micro-switch inside the brake light switch itself, which was operated all the time.

My bike is stored in a garage all the time and I had this problem despite this.
So I dont think it had something to do with your kind of parking your Ryker.

Regards
Michael

 

[shakin_jake]

~~~~Hey Michael, The situation you had is different from mine, in that the computer system is not affected at all. I had a chance to throw down a moving blanket to lie on while taking a look at the brake pedal and return spring. It looks like the others that chimed in with weak spring theories are on target. I shot the pivot area with lubricant from a spray can and that action did not alter the truant outcome one bit

Peters spring picture w/accompanying dimensions, I’m afraid that spring looks to be too large for the Ryker’s more diminutive brake spring dimension/ergos. I’m starting to think my best (easiest) play is to replace w/an OEM spring. If I go that route, perhaps I’ll get another 15 months service from the spec’d spring


Best,


Jake
Reddick Fla.
Dee Dee Ramone- 53rd & 3rd, “you’re the one they never pick”

 

[Mikey]

Double it up, most hardware stores have a whole selection of different spring types, that's what work for all of us!! Good luck!!

 

[shakin_jake]

Double it up, most hardware stores have a whole selection of different spring types, that's what work for all of us!! Good luck!!

###there’s a good reason I was only able to accumulate 4 K miles on my Ryker for the first 12 months of ownership. Same reason I’m unable to hunt down an alternative spring for my Ryker (no spare time)

I’ll likely end up phoning the selling dealer’s parts department to have them ship the OEM spring to me

Hey!, I get it. Home Despot, Ace Hardware, Lowe’s, etc. will probably have a suitable replacement spring. Yeah, I could buy a few w/the hope one will work or, do the site thing and get the OEM replacement

At the risk of going off on a separate tangent, it’s all well and good to find suitable replacements parts rather than go with original spec. Good example there- dark side tires but in this instance, it’s easier for me to pick up the phone and have the OEM spring shipped to me

If I get to a hardware store first, fine, I’ll go that route but as busy as I am on my farm currently, I don’t see the hardware trip coming up any time soon

 

[shakin_jake]

Wanted/need to update my thread-


I dropped by the local can am dealer in Ocala Fla. Thursday, maybe it was yesterday?!? (forget, been extremely busy), also looked @ a 2021 RT (best left for another thread) while there

They were OOS so I paid in advance for an OEM brake return spring ($18). Parts man said he ordered it from another dealer that had several in stock, & that I could come by and pick it up (he’ll call me when it arrives, or so he said= in 3-5 working days

I should mention besides also paying state sales tax (@7%) I paid an additional $5 for shipping. Grand total charged to my cc was $25 & change

Not that anyone asked but the reason I didn’t remove the OEM spring and go the hardware store route, in an attempt to match the spring…couldn’t be bothered, I’d rather just replace the weak spring with the correct replacement, much like when you change motor oil you replace the oil filter with the correct oil filter, call it done. No different here. Just trying to make this as simple and painless as possible

 

[Peter Aawen]

I obviously shoulda come back earlier & checked in! :banghead: Sorry, my bad!

I appreciate what you're saying about the ease of getting it sorted simply Jake, but that spring I posted a pic of earlier is meant to go on WITH the OEM Return spring still in place - and it isn't the same length cos it's not meant to be anchored in the same place; instead, it's intended as a HELPER Spring to aid the notoriously weak OEM Return spring (they're often too weak even when they are brand new! ) to make sure that the brake pedal returns sufficiently to actually clear & release the micro-switch that often keeps the brake light on if the pedal doesn't get pulled clear completely! :lecturef_smilie:

So while I do hope that replacing the (already weak?) OEM Return spring with another (potentially also weak - if not immediately, then maybe soon?? :dontknow: ) OEM Return spring actually resolves your problem; but if it doesn't (& doing that hasn't for many :sour: ) then you'll know to ADD another spring in order to help the first! Maybe just putting on the two OEM springs that you'll have by then will do it for you; but if not, acquiring and adding one similar to that I showed and anchoring it a bit further away should do the trick! :thumbup:

Here's hoping tho! :cheers:

 

[Markubis]

Right, but the spring you posted was to help the Spyders brake pedal, correct? So, we dont even know if it will attach correctly on the Ryker. I think that's what Jake is saying here....he doesn't want to monkey around trying to get it to fit.

 

[Peter Aawen]

That's correct Markubis, that spring was one originally found to help Spyders with this issue, and to my knowledge more Spyders have used that spring than Rykers.

But I've passed that same spring info on to a few Ryker owners here in Oz with brake lights that were staying on, and all have reported back that the additional spring did the trick; and so far none of them have in any way suggested that they needed to 'monkey around' or get a different sized spring to make it work either; so while I haven't seen it first hand, it seems that it can fairly easily be made to work fine?!? :dontknow:

So until/unless anyone provides any more specific feedback, I'm just puttin' it out there. It'd certainly be interesting to know, wouldn't it?! :thumbup:

 

[shakin_jake]

@ Mark & Peter-

Peter is right. I had a chance to look at my Ryker where the helper spring will attach. There’s a frame cross member you can tie the front of the helper spring to

What I would do when and if the time comes-

Make a loop using safety wire. Loop that wire around the frame cross member and attach the front of the helper spring there

The rear portion of the helper spring can attach to the same post that the OEM spring attaches to as there is plenty of room on that post to attach another spring

Mind you, you won’t be able to adjust the U-Fit brake assembly once you attach a helper spring as the cross member is fixed. What you would need to do if you wanted to shorten or lengthen the travel of the U-Fit assembly is to make up another loop of safety wire

I’ll try to post a pic

 

[shakin_jake]

Crikey, the pic appears to be upside down

Stand on your head maybe j/k =

 

[shakin_jake]

Apologies in advance in regards to the poor photo posting. I uploaded the latest software on both my iPhone and iPad and using Flickr to host my photos, there’s some sort of conflict that won’t let me size and easily post pics

 

[Markubis]

I blame Apple!

Upside down pic is fine. I just pretended to be laying across the seat with my head down while looking under t he bike..